Sweet summer corn is roasted in the oven and combined with fresh basil pesto and jasmine rice. A perfect summer side dish!

Basil Pesto & Roasted Corn Rice | Basil pesto | Roasted corn | Summer side dish | Healthy side dish

Happy Monday, everyone! And happy Memorial Day! I hope you’re relaxing today with family and friends. Nick and I are enjoying our long weekend… yesterday we just lounged around the apartment. I shot a couple recipe videos and plan to do a few more today! I’m super excited to share this one with you! 

When I think of summer, I automatically think of two things: pesto and corn. And when you put them together? They’re even more amazing! 

This is my quick and easy pesto recipe. All you need are these five ingredients: basil, parmesan, garlic, walnuts and olive oil (plus salt and pepper). I like to use walnuts because they’re so much cheaper than using pine nuts (traditionally, pine nuts are used in pesto). Walnuts are a fine substitute and you don’t even taste the difference! 

Basil Pesto & Roasted Corn Rice | Basil pesto | Roasted corn | Summer side dish | Healthy side dish

Did you catch my handy method for roasting corn? Just trim the husks and pop in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes. The husks keeps the steam inside the cob and roasts/steams at the same time. The corn comes out perfectly tender and tastes amazing!! 

Basil Pesto & Roasted Corn Rice | Basil pesto | Roasted corn | Summer side dish | Healthy side dish

My pesto rice side dish would be great for barbecues, potlucks or any family get-together that requires a side dish. If you wanted to use this as an entree, I’d add some sliced chicken or shrimp for some protein! 

Here’s the recipe for Basil Pesto & Roasted Corn Rice: 

Basil Pesto & Roasted Corn Rice

Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 3 ears of corn
  • 1 cup fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 tsp salt and pepper each
  • 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil divided
  • 2 cups cooked white rice

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Trim the husks on the ears of corn and place directly on the oven rack. Roast for 30 minutes. 

  2. Meanwhile, make the pesto. Combine the basil, parmesan, walnuts, garlic, salt, pepper, and 2 Tbsp olive oil in a food processor. 

  3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add the corn, rice and pesto. Stir to combine. 

1 Comment

  1. jimfromtx says:

    My dad made this the other day, and added halved cherry tomatoes for a little acidity, and some chopped cucumber for some extra texture and flavor, and it came out amazing! I highly recommend it, very tasty.

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